First European airlines offering in-flight
use of mobile phones thanks to EU-wide ground rules

More and more European air passengers are being
offered the choice to use their normal mobile phone to send text messages,
browse the web or even make calls on board airplanes. One year after the
European Commission put in place common rules for safe use of mobile phones on
aircrafts and for simple and non-bureaucratic authorisations of this essentially
cross border service, 27 European aircraft have been equipped to allow the
secure use of standard GSM handsets onboard aircraft while flying in European
airspace. The number of aircrafts enabled for in-flight use of mobile phones is
expected to double by the end of the year.

"The possibility to use a mobile phone onboard an aircraft is particularly
sought after by business travellers and younger passengers. In addition,
in-flight GSM offers are an interesting business model for European companies.
This is why a year ago, the European Commission created a legal framework for
companies who want to offer mobile communications on-board aircrafts in a safe
and simple way in European skies without having to go through 27 different
national authorisation procedures," said Viviane Reding, the EU's Telecoms
Commissioner. "I welcome the fact that the first airlines in Europe are now
offering in-flight mobile phone use. There are two conditions for a further
successful take-up of this new service: first of all, in-flight mobile phone use
should not disturb other passengers, for example by leaving ample room for quiet
zones during air travel, just like in trains. Secondly, attention should be paid
by the operators that prices for these services remain at a reasonable level. If
these two conditions are met, then offering on-board mobile phone services can
be a bonus for European companies in the competitive global air travel
market."

In April 2008, the Commission introduced rules to harmonise conditions for
mobile phone services on aircraft across the EU (IP/08/537).
One year later, these enabling rules have allowed two providers of mobile
communications services on-board airplanes (MCA), OnAir (Geneva) and AeroMobile (London) to start business in
Europe. They associate themselves with airlines interested in making such
services available to their passengers.

Presently, three European airlines – Ryanair (Ireland), TAP (Portugal)
and bmi (United Kingdom) – are building up the service in their fleets: 27
aircraft have already been equipped and the number of MCA-enabled aircraft is
expected to double by end of this year. This constitutes a promising start,
while technical trials are taking place in other airlines.

Meanwhile, the airlines are fine-tuning the conditions under which passengers
can use their phone on-board aircraft to ensure wider consumer acceptance of the
new service, and are analysing the service take-up on those aircraft that are
already equipped. Current indications are that the price of on-board phone
services so far start from approx. €1.60 per minute for a voice call and
approx. €0.43 for a text message, depending on the terrestrial mobile
service provider whose subscription the passenger is using.

The Commission took regulatory action in 2008 to allow for the safe and
EU-wide operation of mobile communications on-board aircraft, and create the
conditions for businesses to offer these services on flights that often cross
several borders. This required three steps:

to ensure that the use of equipment on board – including the
passengers' handsets – does not cause interference with the
aircraft's equipment and systems.

to ensure that mobile equipment does not interfere with terrestrial mobile
communications networks but connects exclusively to the on-board base station
linked to the ground via satellite;

to offer common rules and standards so that on-board base stations are
authorised to operate as a plane flies over different EU Member States.

A model for other continents

The European approach has served as a model for use in other regions. Several
airlines outside Europe (including Qantas, Emirates, Malaysian Airlines, Royal
Jordanian, Wataniya, Virgin Australia) have been testing the service or are
offering it, with some 40 aircraft already equipped. Other airlines have
announced similar intentions. The prevalence worldwide of the GSM standard
(currently used by almost 3 billion people) makes the business model attractive,
as passengers can use their normal mobile phone.

Background

Mobile communication services on aircraft (MCA) are pan-European telecoms
services. Two measures were adopted by the Commission in April 2008 (IP/08/537):

A Commission Decision setting out harmonised technical parameters
for onboard equipment for in-flight mobile phone use throughout the EU.
These technical specifications ensure that equipment does not generate
interference and forms the basis for the certification of airworthiness of
equipment for different airplane types by the competent authority (EASA). The
Decision is legally binding, ensuring the same type of equipment is used on all
aircrafts.

A Commission Recommendation for a harmonised approach on licensing
which will promote mutual recognition between national authorisations for
mobile communications services on aircraft.

The 'airline
roaming', or mobile calls and text messages on-board aircraft is treated as
international roaming similar to terrestrial roaming services. The first
examples show that the tariffs are significantly lower than the in-flight fixed
telephone services via satellite links offered in the past. The in-flight mobile
communications fall outside the scope of the Commission's regulatory actions
targeted to reduce international roaming tariffs for voice and data, as they are
considered an innovative service on an emerging market. The cost of mobile
communications on-board aircraft is therefore fixed by the service provider. The
European Commission is, however, closely monitoring the levels and transparency
of prices charged to consumers.